Battle of Shizugatake

The Battle of Shizugatake was the decisive battle of the war between Oda generals Hideyoshi Hashiba and Katsuie Shibata.

Background
In June of 1582, mighty warlord Nobunaga Oda's dreams of conquest came to an end when he was slain in an uprising. Soon, a heated struggle began as Hideyoshi Hashiba, avenger of Nobunaga's death, fought Oda retainer Katsuie Shibata for the right to succeed their deceased lord. Tensions quickly erupted into all-out war. As their forces clashed, Hideyoshi's most elite generals each sought to make a name for himself. There was the expert strategist Mitsunari Ishida, the fearless Masanori Fukushima, and then there was Kiyomasa Kato, who excelled in both strategy and combat.

The Toyotomi forces were fragmented by the ferocity of the Shibata Army's attack. Hideyoshi had to claim Mt. Oiwa Garrison and use it as a base to regroup. It looked like the Shibata forces were coming from Shizugatake Garrison. After he would claim Mt. Oiwa Garrison, he needed for Kiyomasa Kato to head for Shizugatake Garrison at once. Once he took that, things would get easier, but Keiji Maeda would be blocking the path ahead. And in the Western Garrison would be Toshiie Maeda, an old friend of Hideyoshi. If Kiyomasa talked to him, Hideyoshi thought that Toshiie could be convinced to defect. It was an important task, and he counted on Kiyomasa.

Battle
Kiyomasa Kato was dispatched to capture Mt. Oiwa Garrison from Shibata generals Katsumitsu Fuwa and Morimasa Sakuma, as the Toyotomi army could regroup and counterattack. After capturing the garrison, he defeated Ieyoshi Haigo, Shogen Yamaji, and Yoritsuna Mitsugi within 4 minutes, driving the Shibata Army back. While Mitsunari headed to the Eastern Garrison, Masanori and Kiyomasa were entrusted with capturing Shizugatake. Mitsunari launched a surprise attack on the Northern Garrison and destroyed the Shibata garrison there, while Masanori and Kiyomasa secured the most important garrison on the field. To defend the Western Garrison, Kiyomasa was dispatched to confront Keiji Maeda's army. Iekiyo Yasui and Keiji Maeda were blocking the bridge to the next Shibata garrison with riflemen and swordsmen, but Kiyomasa led a daring attack that routed the inexperienced sword Ashigaru levies and defeated the two generals.

Katsuie Shibata sent Katsumasa Shibata to deliver orders for Toshiie Maeda to advance. Hideyoshi told Kiyomasa that Toshiie was a good man and instructed him to convince him to withdraw. Toshiie fought Kiyomasa but fell at the wrong end of the spear and fled, leaving Shibata's western garrison in Toyotomi hands. The stronghold there was sealed, preventing additional troops from arriving to fight for Katsuie's army, and Toshiie and his son Toshinaga Maeda left the field. Hideyoshi offered him a home with his army, and only Katsuie Shibata's main camp was left. Shigeharu Kuwayama defeated Yasumasa Sakuma and Kiyomasa Kato defeated Katsumasa Shibata, clearing the path from the south. Mitsunari Ishida, Hidenaga Hashiba, and Katsumoto Kinoshina moved on the garrison from the east, with Hideyoshi himself, Nene, Kiyomasa, Masanori, Shigekore Kimura, Nagahide Niwa, and Shigeharu Kuwayama advancing from the south. Mitsunari struggled, but when Kiyomasa arrived, he said that his help was not needed or welcomed. Nevertheless, the Toyotomi army was able to overwhelm Katsuie and his army. Kiyomasa killed 670 of Shibata's soldiers in the battle. Katsuie was defeated, and proceeded to commit seppuku, killing himself.

Aftermath
Having triumphed at Shizugatake, Hideyoshi Hashiba united the Oda generals under his command. His generals Kiyomasa Kato, Masanori Fukushima, Katsumoto Katagiri, Yoshiaki Kato, Yasuharu Wakisaka, Nagayasu Hirano, and Takenori Kasuya became known as the "Seven Spears of Shizugatake" for their fighting prowess on the battlefield.